[Q1] Dragons Peak Burns

It was kind of cute that Alistair thought he was unrecognizable. Especially considering three of the people standing there had slept in close quarters with him for the better part of a year. That might have been a decade ago but there hadn’t been that much of a change in the man’s appearance and the disguise was something. He could have chose a full suit of armor with a full helmet but Alistair had never been quick on the draw. He glanced at Lana, trying to see how the two of them were going to handle this and when she didn’t out him immediately he focused on their other old friend.

You look good, Elanna,he said and gave her a smile. However, the reunion was cut short however when the ground opened up underneath them. He watched as an d friend fell into the crevice, reaching to grab ahold of Lana, almost on instinct, but of course was unable to due to her being a raven. That was okay though because that meant she was okay.

He looked around, prepared to heal anyone who was hurt, not offering much in ways to get Elanna out. They couldn’t get a griffon down there so that was out.

Then he heard Lana announce she was going in and his own stomach dropped, Lana, wait we don’t kno—

His heart was racing the moment she was out of his view and he’d gone pale. He couldn’t see her. He didn’t know if she was okay or in immediate danger. He could feel the weight of his late husband’s limp body in his arms and his mind replaced it with Lana.

Anders had to get down there.

He pulled rope from his own belt and holstered his staff to his back, whistling for Fred. He didn’t announce what he was doing, tying the rope to Fred to help hold his weight. Now, if the ground goes out from under you, you can take off. I’ll hold on. he said to the beast, knowing mostly the thing would do so out of instinct but it felt good to say and then he dropped the rope down next to the other length and went to lower himself in.

TLDR
~Anders doesn’t out Alistair even though he recognizes him.
~is looking for Lana when the ground goes crazy
~panics at her going into the hole and leaps into action to join her as a trauma response to remembering losing his husband, is not communicating his plan to anyone but Fred the griffon

IThis was fine.  This was all just fine.  The ground beneath them had just opened up and Elanna had fallen in.  Then Lana went in after.  Oh and then Anders was doing his thing, talking to the griffon.  That was fine.  It was the opposite of what he was doing, because he was standing stock still, with a small woman hanging onto his arm like he was supposed to do something with that arm. He peered down at her questioningly.  “Hi…?”  Alastair hoped she knew, because he sure didn’t have a clue.

Right.  He scratched absently at the beard, weirdly put off by the way the bristly hair crunched beneath his nail.  He thought about what he should be doing.  Or trying to do.  Try and help Elanna get out of the hole.  Watch her back.  But there were people already doing just that.  He’d likely just get in the way.  He had to figure out another way to be useful.  That stung, more than a little, if he was being honest with himself.

Seeing as he really wasn’t in the mood to be all self-reflective, Alastair looked up instead and saw that the mountain did not look like it had a few moments ago, and had to sigh.  I’d say that qualifies as another problem, he quipped, almost cheerfully.  He even made eye contact with everyone, before raising his voice to rely the information to Elanna.  The mountain kind of split in half.  We need to move to higher, safer ground, and figure out what’s going on with that mountain while you, Lana, and Anders work on a way to get you out.

The eggs were worrisome.  Maybe they could all make some omelets… That’d be a first, wouldn’t it?  Being able to eat all your troubles away?

He looked down at the woman holding onto him.  What’s your favourite way to eat your eggs?  We can talk about it as we’re getting away from the giant crack so no one else falls in.  Alastair pushed down on the nagging voice that told him that he should be the one helping Elanna.  And figure out what to do about that mountain that looks like its about to fall over…  He took the first step, then another, watching the others around him.

TL;DR

• The crack isn’t big enough.  Alastair feels like he should be the one helping Elanna out, but Lana and Anders is enough
  
• Has random thoughts about eggs
  
• Three Grey Wardens are going to be fine (hopefully), so the rest of them should figure out what’s going on with that mountain before it falls on them
  

She heard Byron's voice from above (which was good because the last thing she needed was him doing something stupid like jumping in after her).  [color=#17b529]"There's always another problem,"[/color] she muttered to herself.  No adventure like this was ever simple, after all.

Ah, good.  Someone at least had sense enough to have brought some rope.  Before starting to make the climb back up, because staying down in the canyon by herself seemed like a terrible idea, Lana joined her.  And it looked like Anders too might be on his way down too.  Honestly, all they needed was for Alistair to join them and it would be easy to pretend they were all twenty years younger trying to save the world again.

[color=#17b529]"Oh, just the mountain splitting in half?  Is that all?" [/color]she called back up.  [color=#17b529]"Is it Tuesday, then, because I seem to recall that sort of thing happening on Tuesdays."[/color]

She considered Lana's question a bit more seriously.  [color=#17b529]"I didn't see anything, but the lighting isn't great down here.  And if the mountain's in half, that probably means the source of the issue is down here somewhere."[/color]  Assuming nothing came from above, the issue had to be from below.  The eggshells seemed to support that theory.

[color=#17b529]"I don't really like the idea of splitting the party, but I'm not sure we should go back up yet.  If you can give us some light, why don't we see what else is down here before catching up with the others?" [/color]she asked Lana.

TLDR:

• She's thankful that Byron had the good sense not to jump in after her
  
• Appreciates the rope, but doesn't climb it yet
  
• Says she believes the issue will be down here below the mountain
  
• Says she doesn't like splitting the party, but thinks she, Lana, and Anders should explore more with better light before heading back up
  

The group has decided to split in two — fitting, considering the state of the Dragons Peaks right about now. The largest peak quivers, as the above-ground group walks towards it. They climb, those with magic use their abilities to help those without; and it's a short climb thanks to that.

Upon reaching the top, the group will see that the mountain is... leaking. Leaking blood, definitely, it's even red like you'd expect blood to be. It isn't magma, though, which has the group heaving sighs of relief. After all... this was supposed to be a volcano, if the stories you've all heard were correctly told.

Was... someone from ages past, trying to keep people away from this mountain...?

ABOVEGROUND TEAM:
- You've made it to the top of the peak that's splitting.
- Mini earthquakes are still happening but don't seem severe.
- Upon reaching the top of the peak, you see that it's covered in what appears to be blood.

And, oh! We didn't forget you underground rats! Our friends with terrible life choices! At least Elanna didn't choose to be in the hole; perhaps our two hero-complexes should reconsider their actions—

Nope, you don't reconsider? Alright. The rope out of the hole is left dangling, attached somewhere up above. An escape route, if you find that you need it.

Upon closer inspection, our underground trio recognize the eggs as Firetail Lizard eggs. The lizards are small to medium in size, and shoot fire from their mouths. So far, none of you run into them...

As you venture deeper into the caverns underneath this supposed volcano, the rocks do not seem hot to the touch, the air is cool if anything.

The deeper the group goes, the more lit the caverns become—until the underground trio is standing in a large room with glimmering red gems in the walls—bright enough to see by, albeit it's a horrible glow for those of you that lived through the Breach.

In the center of this room are two stone pillars—with red lyrium coating them. Be careful, ladies and gents.

UNDERGROUND TEAM:
- The link is a creature sheet. There's no lizards yet.
- You realize there's red lyrium all around you the deeper you go.
- You can still leave...
- You've found twin pillars underground—what are those?

POST ORDER:

• NPC (IVY/ZEZE)
  
• FRANZISKA (IVY)
  
• AULUS (ZEZE)
  
• DEYRAN (NIGHTCLOAK)
  
• LANA (TAIE)
  
• ANDERS (STITCHY)
  
• ALISTAIR (SAFIA)
  
• ELANNA (AILYN)
  
• BYRON (DRAKE)
  

UNDERGROUND: * ALL MAGES

• ELANNA
  
• LANA
  
• ANDERS
  

ABOVE-GROUND:

• BYRON
  
• DEYRAN
  
• FRANZISKA
  
• ALISTAIR
  
• AULUS
  

Franziska held onto Alistair's arm, the entire trek up the mountain. And when they arrive, she's the first to move towards the... pool of crimson. It bubbled, crystalizing slowly. Kneeling next to it, she reached out to touch it, just the tips of her index fingers. She brought her index and thumb together, watching as the liquid crystallized quickly.

So... not a volcano? She questions, raising her eyebrows. She'd heard from more than one villager that this was a volcano, and it could blow at any moment. So Elanna's not... burning to death under there? She clarifies, frowning at the idea. Elanna had taught her a lot, it'd be a shame to lose her now.

tldr;;
- touches the lyrium leaking out of the top
- asks if this is a volcano or not
- mentions she's glad elanna isn't burning alive lmao

By the time they reached the bloody top of the mountain, Aulus was still processing that leaving the flimsy-looking woman behind in the crevice was even an option. Even though two more had hopped down with the other woman, when more than half the others decided fine turning away, many fresh insights dawned on Aulus. 

One thought was that a highbred-looking woman could fall down quite far, and still be able to make do. (How long had he coddled Octavia for?) Another idea was that simply cheering at another's plight was socially acceptable. (What would happen if Octavia did her own dirty work and he stood back and cheered her on?) (Yes, he had gawked at Deyran's casual brilliance, before embarressedly looking away.)

Now Aulus crouched scooping the hot, thick liquid in one ungloved hand, investigating even though the reeking of its iron decay made him want to retch. This was the smell of war, as he knew it. He hadn't expected it here, and a meditative darkness laced the furrow of his brow as if he had returned to his soldier's duties five years ago. He was quiet, but he eyed Deyran's boots as he wiped the thick redish oily fluid off of his hands. His obsessive ruminations on Octavia was now, perhaps, dethroned to a light distraction from far worse reflections. He doesn't realize he's stepped closer to Deyran as he wipes his hand on a bit of rag.

Not a volcano, Aulus agreed with the first to draw conclusions. Maybe it is some other death though, he said with soft concern. Is this some sort of mineral sludge? How can it smell so like blood? Aulus uttered, willing his senses to be over-reacting, for all this blood was quite horrifying.

- thoughts of octavia, and admiration of deyran
- some ptsd instrusive thoughts. he looks visibly ill.
- cant believe he thinks its blood (just read the dialogue, if anything)

Getting this far was a challenge; every few steps, a quake, but nothing as serious as before. It was, however, not stopping the party from pushing forward. Because when the mountain splits apart and the ground eats you up, it’s a clear sign to follow. However, Deyran seems thrilled about the whole experience. Obviously, the guy seems to have a weird idea of what fun is.

Glancing engrossedly, his brow furrowed as he noticed the dense consistency of the blood-like fluid. The sharp scent of iron assaulted his senses, and the slimy texture clung stubbornly to his skin. But then a smile drew upon his face, the arrival of a wily idea that had emerged in the depth of his mind.

I think we should bottle this up, he suggested reflexively with a playful tone to everyone near enough to hear. Perhaps this childish behavior is why he was forbidden from ever getting close to the Court Enchanter’s things. He, however, probably just thought it was just about magic. Which is foolish, with so much magic going around one would think people would be used to it by now. But best to leave that conversation for later.

Now, if only I could find... he began, searching recklessly among his things for something to encase a bit of the red substance that had everyone in such a fuss.

Deyran, of course, eventually notices how the warrior got much closer. Perhaps it’s a different kind of blood, he replied to the warrior while continuing to search among his things.

TLDR;

• Deyran suggested bottling the blood-like stuff.
  
• He searches for something he could have that would work as a container.
  
• He replies to Aulus.
  

To Lana's great surprise, Anders made his way down to join her and Elanna in the hole. Well, weren't they all just fine decision makers. But the contents of the space were of interest - especially if they could have at least had a hand in whatever was going on with the mountain. Volcano.

Despite all better judgment, Lana summoned a few motes of fire, sending them out in a circular pattern, looking to shed more light on their surroundings. It illuminated the hatched shells more, as well as highlighting one singular exit - entrance? - from the chamber they stood in.

Oh! How delightful, the wavering voice of Voracity cut in, looking about the area, Firetail Lizards!

Lana let out a huff, taking a moment to regain herself over the demon she'd let occupy her body. Let's not, she muttered more to the demon than her friends.

But why linger where the empty shells remained, after all she'd asked about a way forward into the abyss rather than leaving it. Why not seize the opportunity?

Worse than anything thus-far, the next chamber they entered left a chill to run up and down Lana's spine. The fact that she had not heard the sour song of the red lyrium until standing on top of it left her concerned. Were her senses dulling? Or was something else at play here?

Red lyrium... how far does this corruption run? She'd seen it far to the west in the Frostbacks after Haven had been destroyed. Heard rumors of it appearing eastward into the Hinterlands, but nearly to Denerim? Did it now span the whole of their country? Maker, that could spell disaster. Touch nothing. She instructed promptly - as if either of her compatriots would be ill-advised enough to do such a thing. At least, she did not take them for, well, Blighted fools.

tl;dr

• Uses Power -> Fire Foci to illuminate their path.
  
• Voracity makes a cameo to comment on the lizards (bc Lana can't pull that out of her ass on her own)
  
• Lana expresses concern over the spread of the red lyrium
  
• Taie makes a bad Grey Warden pun at the end
  

He knew what it was before he touched down in the ravine. The invisible hairs were standing up on his arm and his stomach sank. The tell tale red glow and the stink of taint and corruption made his blood curdle. He looked for Lana, his eyes alighting on her for a moment, before taking a breath and pulling his staff from where it had been holstered along his back.

This was about as fucked as it could get.

Anders had often wondered if things would have gotten as bad as they did in Kirkwall if they hadn’t dragged that statue up from the depths, if they had just left well enough alone and let it rot there in the deep. Would it have gotten to the point where—

Not the time.

He looked over Lana, making sure she was okay first, then to Elanna as well. Both women seemed relatively unharmed. I hate it down here. he ground out through gritted teeth as he pulled his hair back with a tie to see his surroundings better. Firetail Lizards. Wonderful. Straightening up to his full height Anders tilted his head, using the magic around him to start looking for spikes in temperature as well as any signs of life that weren’t the three of them, in case they were walking into an ambush.

Oh damn, and here I was planning on seeing if it tasted like cherries, he said dryly before glancing around, It was just the idol at first… but I think Corypheus started something that’s not going to be easily stopped. He fed it. Now it grows. he muttered, That’s my theory anyway.

Pausing a moment to tap into the eyes of Fred long enough to see what the others were doing he returned back to focus on the task at hand and back to looking for the lizards, The others are moving up the mountain. Fred can probably pull the three of us out with the rope if you two want to grab ahold.

TLDR

-Anders reflects on red lyrium and also on the fact that he hates being underground.
-Uses magic (specifically fire and zomancy) to look for the fire tail lizards.
-Cracks a joke and gives Lana his theory on why the red lyrium is spreading.
-Uses zomancy to look through Fred’s eyes to see what the others are doing and then returned to looking for the lizards and suggesting they take the rope and gtfo

This woman was really very odd. Nice! But odd. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do… except try and make sure she didn’t trip? That’d be bad. He’d better make sure he didn’t trip too. Maker, he’d never hear the end of it. “Hey remember that time Alastair tripped and then fell down that mountain?” “Yeah! Fell into that hole he was telling everyone to watch out for too!”

He scratched irritably at his beard, absently patting the lady’s hand. She was pretty steady on her feet! That was good. He remembered why he disliked mountains though by the time they got where they had to be. He hoped.

The hairs on the back of his neck immediately lifted and he tried not to whip around looking for… for what? He eyed the red… bubbling pool. Bad. That was bad. Anything red and bubbling that came out of a danger mountain with eggs in it was bad. He was sure of it. Giving an uneasy glance around, he reached out to tug the small lady back, away from the crimson. He wanted to… scrape her fingers clean. And shake her until her teeth rattled for putting the image in his head of Elanna burning alive.

Alastair blinked as two more of the group went to touch the bubbling red liquid. His look was incredulous. What? No! No bottling it up! That’s a bad idea. I can’t tell you why it is only that it is! Maker’s breath, don’t anyone drink it! He moved in close to the other two and began trying to shoo them away. Honestly, what sorts of things were they teaching the youth nowadays?! He would have thought ‘don’t stick your fingers into creepy things of questionable origins’ would’ve been right up there with ‘don’t put your face into fire’.

He didn’t like all the red. It reminded him of… what had come out of a Broodmother. He shook his head slightly. If the villagers swear this is a volcano, then it could be that this red goop is also explosive. Or unstable. That reminded him of… but before that thought could land, it went and flitted off, leaving him grasping futilely for it.

tl;dr
- Doesn’t understand why three of them are touching the red stuff
- Adamantly against bottling this stuff up
- Tries to get everyone to move back away from it
- Suggests that maybe it’s the red stuff that’s making the mountain wonky (as per the villagers insisting the mountain is a volcano)
- Suddenly has an idea about the red stuff but loses it just as fast.

Firetail lizards she could handle.  It wouldn't necessarily be fun, but with two mages of Lana and Anders' on her side caliber she wasn't overly worried about it either.

It was the crystals that left her wary, an uneasiness that she couldn't shake creeping up her spine and settling in her bones as they grew closer to the chamber with the pillars coated in the stuff.  She knew enough about red lyrium to know better than touch the stuff.  Even being this close to it was dangerous, and way beyond what they could handle.  Was there even a way of handling the stuff?  If there wasn't there was going to have to be - they couldn't let it spread around Ferelden unchecked.

[color=#17b529]"We should get out while we can,"[/color] she agreed with Anders.  [color=#17b529]"We can't do anything more here, not yet.  And we need to warn the others - if this mountain is infested with the stuff anything it's leaking could be too."[/color]

TLDR

• She thinks they could handle lizards, but not red lyrium
  
• She believes they will have to fix the red lyrium problem, but doesn't think they're equipped for that right now
  
• Elanna agrees with Anders that they should GTFO and warn the others about the red lyrium
  

Byron walked and walked and kept to himself except to make sure no one fell. But when they reached the peak and found a well, a red liquid. Which while not burning anything yet, still spoke to a problem. What that problem was, he wasn't entirely certain, the fact the mountain was thought to be a volcano and no one was at present burning, dying of heat or had their skin doing unfortunate things spoke to how wrong that thought was, though the fact anyone was touching it made him want to bash peoples heads together.

He restrained himself if only because he had to act his station and not his shoe size, though the glare he shot Fran for touching it spoke volumes, really. The fact he was agreeing with Alistair also made him mentally sigh but when a good idea was good, what was one to do? How about we don't touch the liquid and instead attempt to figure out where it's coming from? If it's from the mountain itself that's a problem, he started to say before he processed Deyran's words.

That led him to moving quick to clamp a hand over the other man's forearm, a glare and growl to his voice. And we're not bottling this. If this is a volcano, or thought to be one, who knows what this stuff will do? And I'm not about to have something weird and potentially dangerous going around Ferelden, or rumors of it. A warning to stop, to not bottle it up and also to keep quiet about what they'd found to others, at least for the moment. The last thing they needed were people going to the formerly thought to be a volcano for the mysterious red liquid that did who knew what.

I think we should see where this is coming from and stop playing with it. It's not further down the mountain after all, or at least not visible there, I say we press on. Worded as a suggestion as it was one, not a command. He'd let people make a choice, but he was of the firm thought to move on and figure out where it was coming from and perhaps, they'd figure out what the liquid was and what was causing the earthquakes.

tl;dr
- Byron's not pleased with Fran clinging to someone else
- Annoyed at everyone for touching the liquid, playing with it etc.
- Grabs Deyran's arm to stop him from bottling the stuff up for the moment
- Warns the group to not spread the fact it exists around to stop people coming for it until they know what it is
- Suggests pressing on to find out where the stuff is coming from

The use of fire was a terrible choice, dear readers. The magic being used by Lana causes the lyrium, which is already corrupted, to bubble. The flames are a little too near, and a volatile vein sets off a chain-reaction.

All around the group in the ground, red lyrium is bubbling and crystalizing in new shapes and forms, actively seeking out their magic.

Red lyrium shoots out like an arrow, and pierces through the hand that Lana used to cast the fire spell. The veins of that hand begin to darken, blackening...

Will it spread?

And what other affects will Lana feel?

Someone lurches forward to avoid stepping into lyrium, and their hand slams into one of the pillars. Once their hand has made contact, the pillar begins to tremble...

The person nearest to the pillar will notice that the base of the pillar... resembles... a foot?

TLDR;;
- The way back is now blocked by puddles of liquid red lyrium.
- Lana's veins are blackening after contact with red lyrium. They almost seem to be glowing. She also has a piece of red lyrium in the center of her palm.
- The lyrium is volatile and reacting badly to magic being used around it, even the pillars in the center of this room have begun to glow.
- The base of the pillar resembles feet.

FOR LANA:
Your magic is haywire, extremely hard to control. When using magic in the thread for this quest, you must roll a d20, and roll 17-20 for success. Anything below a 17 causes your magic to fail and backfire on your group.

This is only permanent insofar as the quest, though if you want to play with this outside of the quest, you can. It can be permanent if you'd like once the quest ends.*

No other effects are relevant at this time. We'll be ignoring the typical effects of lyrium.

Your blood magics are heavily affected by the lyrium. Lana or her demon are going to start craving blood. Should Lana consume blood, she'll become ravenous for more. Should she ignore the craving, it will only grow worse.

---

---

Our group above-ground, you're messing with strange liquids as they seep from the ground itself. How awkward. How quaint.

Upon touching the lyrium, as it was not activated by magic, nothing happens. But once the lyrium under the mountain starts to react to magic, the lyrium at the top does as well.

And suddenly, there is a gaping hole where the lyrium leak had originally been. The mountain has split further apart.

Everyone finds themselves curious, and ventures to look in the newly created hole.

Only to see a pair of red eyes peering at them from the darkness. Large eyes, unbelievably so.

POST ORDER:
NPC (IVY/ZEZE)
LANA (TAIE)
ANDERS (STITCHY)
ELANNA (AILYN)
ALISTAIR (SAFIA)
BYRON (DRAKE)
FRANZISKA (IVY)
AULUS (ZEZE)
DEYRAN (NIGHTCLOAK)

[color=#e82a1f]* swapped Alistair and Elanna so that the below group goes first and then the above group.[/color]

The number of times that magic had, literally, blown up in Lana's face were few and far between. Not exactly a prodigy, but still skilled enough to generally avoid the nasty outcomes. She'd also always had the benefit of a demon companion to guide her.

It all happened so fast that it took a minute for her to process everything. Though she yelped the second the red lyrium pierced her hand. The fire itself she'd summoned disappeared the second she was hit by the consequences of her actions; concentration broken on keeping such a thing active.

Looking down at her hand, she watched as a spiderweb of blackness begins to crawl through her body. Without so much as a thought for the consequences, she yanked the shard of red lyrium from her hand with a fuck! before chucking it aside with a grunt.

Something wasn't right about this Blighted lyrium. It didn't act or even feel - or sound - like she expected. No sour song to pierce their senses with this stuff.

I... don't feel good, she remarked. An odd calm for the concerning remark washing through her tone.

A concern, then, took over about how this weird feeling might also lead to her magic being off. It was an odd hunch, something about the way it all felt, the way it reacted to her magic and crawled up her fingers reaching for her hand, her arm.

While the source of the fire had been quelled in the immediate aftermath, some embers still burned across the lyrium. So, water. Water would be a wise decision here. Something relatively safe - she didn't want more lyrium explosively meeting her body, after all - under the current circumstances.

But that wasn't right either. As she felt the energy of the once-Fade flow through her, something felt wrong. The water erupted like a whip flying past her companions and bursting against the lyrium into a bubble of electrified water. The black ichor crawled through her veins even further, tendrils wrapping up her arm now. Uhhh, Lana felt herself drawling out, blinking in surprise and looking to Anders as if the other mage would have all the answers. This wasn't a malady she was familiar with, but he was a healer...

tldr
- her right hand is pierced by the shard of red lyrium
- pulls the shard out of her hand and yeets it somewhere
- summons water to test her magic, it whips past Anders & Elanna (over? under? thru? awks, up to you!). makes any surfaces near the lyrium electrified
- generally ignoring the other weird shit going on for the moment & is more concerned with the magic problem
- the blackened veins have made it to her arm from the magic use

He would not carry another dead body of someone he loved to Soldier’s Peak.

Whatever happened, whatever sacrifice he had to make, it would not happen again.

He watched in horror as the shard shot out and pierced Lana’s hand. They should have never come here. They should have let other people handle it, for once. Lana’s life and limb should not be on the chopping block yet again for Ferelden. What had Ferelden ever truly done for either of them anyhow?

He moved towards her just as her magic whipped out. He lifted his hand to push it away from him and Elanna and watched as the lyric around them crackled with electricity.

This was just getting better and better, wasn’t it.

You know how I said don’t touch the lyrium before. Now I really wouldn’t touch it.

He moved even swiftly to Lana’s side and took her hand in his before she even had to ask, his eyes traced the black lines along his arm and he furrowed his brow. Some sort of poison from the lyrium, some sort of corruption from it. He’d seen red templars and this was similar. He frowned slightly.

I think if I heal the wound as is we’ll trap the corruption. I’ll need to potentially see if I can pull it out of your blood stream first.. I need to get that out first, but… he looked around at the lyrium, I’d rather do this topside if you don’t mind, Lana dear.

He didn’t wait for her answer this time, because it wasn’t a question really. Always sort of lanky, his tall frame hid some lean muscle, honed even more since he started working avidly with the griffons. He slung his staff back on his back and swept Lana in his arms. Shall we head back to the rope? he asked Elanna and then looked down at his dearest friend, trying to hide his gnawing concern and worry behind a slight smirk and joking attitude, And before you protest… I’m aware you can probably walk but I don’t trust you not to get in more trouble.

tldr;

~Anders watches in abject horror as Lana is injured and then subsequently turns the place into a game of high stakes Operation.
~ States the obvious of not touching the lightning lyrium
~He looks at Lana’s wound and determines there’s some sort of spreading corruption, doesn’t trust his magic so close to the lyrium and suggests, again, that they gtfo.
~Scoops Lana into his arms because he doesn’t trust her not to find more trouble on her own and starts heading for the rope.